For Louise Trotter’s first show as creative director of Bottega Veneta, she returned to the Italian brand’s roots to bring her vision to life.
The journey of Laura Braggion, head of the Bottega Veneta design studio from the mid 1980s, was one source of inspiration. Another was the brand’s Intrecciato weave, first introduced by cofounder Renzo Zengiaro in 1975 and an iconic signature of the house ever since. Over the decades, Intrecciato has been reinterpreted in different sizes and expressions. Trotter revisited its earliest original 9mm and 12mm proportions and applied its revolutionary “soft functionality” across bags, shoes and ready-to-wear.
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“The language of Bottega Veneta is Intrecciato,” Trotter said. “And it is a metaphor. It is two different strips woven together that become stronger — the two things make a stronger whole. Collaboration and connectivity run throughout this house and its history, from its beginnings to what it is now. It’s about different places, different people — individual parts and stories intertwined to make a stronger whole.”
The collection saw iconic Bottega Veneta bags revived and reborn: the Lauren re-proportioned in elongated expressions, a softer structure Knot and a clutch edition of the Cabat. New arrivals included a framed tote, the washbag-shaped Squash and a basket in a newly textured craft Intrecciato, a “tour de force” of leatherworking.
Throughout the collection, Trotter embraced the process and ingenuity of the house craft. Precisely tailored pieces were paired with intricate and flamboyant textures, from a top hand embroidered with crystal briolettes and round glass beads to the luminous shimmer of skirts in leather and recycled fiberglass. A cape in hand-woven nappa ribbons took 4,000 hours and 50 artisans to complete.
Trotter asked British artist and Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen to work on the show’s soundtrack. Titled “’66 – ’75,” the audio artwork reconfigured Nina Simone and David Bowie’s recordings of “Wild Is the Wind” to pair Simone’s voice with Bowie’s instrumental and Bowie’s voice with Simone’s piano.
“I like that the Bottega [Veneta] is a workshop — one with a long and multifaceted history in Italy. It involves the collective effort of craft; with craftsmanship, the people who make it and the people who wear it matter. It’s where the hand and the heart become one,” Trotter said.
To view the entire Bottega Veneta collection, click HERE.